A beautiful event occurred at our hospital. I want t to take this opportunity to share with you the immense effort that several members of our team put forth to ensure this event went off flawlessly.
To begin with, Eduardo Arambula from the Office of the Patient Experience notified Emi Kamiya and my covering UD, Paulette Madley of the request to have one of our ICU patients "walk" his daughter down the aisle in a wedding in the garden of the hospital. Emi and Paulette immediately jumped into action to assess the patient and assess the needs to ensure that this could be done safely. Paulette worked with the clinical team (Dr. Estrada and the bedside nurses) to ascertain what would be needed to provide a safe environment for the patient as well as meet the emotional needs of his family. The patient had been quite tenuous throughout the week and Dr. Estrada and Paulette had many conversations with the patient and his wife on how he was progressing as well as setting realistic expectations for them. Thankfully, the patient's respiratory status began to improve toward the end of the week.
Emi worked tirelessly with the patient's wife to set the infrastructure for the event (identifying the aisle, where to place the chairs, arranging for the chairs to be delivered and picked up, etc.)
On the day of the event, the ICU clinical team along with the respiratory team geared up to "make" this happen. Dr. Estrada was standing in the wings (coming down with the patient and standing off to the side, should an emergency occur.) The patient's bedside RN (Kelly Twarowski and new graduate orientee Ophelia Lee) took the patient down with three other ICU RNs (Leah Bognot, Sarah Masters, and Ashley Trueblood) to ensure support was available (and supplies) should they be needed. RTs Patty Gray and Everardo Rodriguez went with the patient as well, as his main clinical concern was his respiratory status.
Kathleen Shin, House Supervisor, was constantly in the loop assisting the team to prepare to take the patient down, assisting with crowd control, guiding the wedding guests, monitoring the event to ensure everything was running smoothly, and assisting with the conclusion and cleanup of the event.
Finally, several members of our team came in on their day off to assist and be support for this momentous occasion, Paulette Madley, Rachel Rose, Simi Singer, Ted Braun, ICU ANI, and Valerie Ewald.
This event is a true embodiment of the UCLA Vision of Healing humankind one patient at a time by improving health, alleviating suffering and delivering acts of kindness. The team truly cared for not only the patient but his family and the community by doing everything within their power to make this event happen.
I am so proud and thankful to work with such a strong group of dedicated and compassionate professionals.
Team Members honored with this DAISY TEAM Award:
Paulette Madley-Unit Director
Rachel Rose-ANII
Leah Bognot-CNII
Valerie Ewald-ANI
Michelle Maines-CNIII
Ashley Trueblood-CNII
Kelly Twarowski-CNII
Sarah Masters-PDRN
Hospital and Nursing Administration
Emi Kamiya-Chief of Administrative Staff
Kathleen Shinn-House Supervisor
Leslie Pixley-House Supervisor
Ruben Ruiz-Security Supervisor
Ed Galvan-Security
Office of Patient Experience
Eduardo Arambula-Patient Liaison
Respiratory Therapy
Ted Pessin-Manager
Matthew Dartt-Respiratory Therapist IV
Everardo Rodriguez-Respiratory Therapist I
ICU Intensivist
Oscar Estrada, MD
Marketing
Ted Braun-Director
Simi Singer-Marketing and Media Analyst
Robert Hernandez-Photographer